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Washington — A recent study indicates that the extreme heat affecting the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America this month, killing several people, has been significantly amplified by climate change. Researchers found that the scorching temperatures, which have led to instances of heat stroke in the United States, were made 35 times more likely due to the emissions from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, according to World Weather Attribution, a team of scientists performing rapid climate attribution studies without peer review.
Residents, such as 82-year-old Magarita Salazar Pérez from Veracruz, Mexico, describe their conditions as unbearable without access to air conditioning. Last week, temperatures in the Sonoran Desert soared to 125 degrees, marking the hottest day on record in Mexican history, as noted by Shel Winkley, a meteorologist and study co-author from Climate Central.
Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from the Imperial College of London and coordinator of the study team, pointed out that the unusual warmth of night temperatures, which were raised by almost 3 degrees, played a significant role in the deadly impact of this heatwave. Typically cooler nights are crucial for surviving such extreme heat events.
The death toll from the heatwave has already reached at least 125 people, according to the World Weather Attribution team.
Karina Izquierdo, an urban advisor for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Centre in Mexico City and co-author of the study, stressed the connection between these intense heatwaves and climate change. The concerning aspect of this situation is that such extreme weather events are becoming far more common, mentioned Otto. Whereas past heatwaves of similar intensity were deemed impossible without the influence of climate change, this is no longer the case.
Comparing current temperatures to those from two decades ago shows a significant increase, making such heatwaves four times more likely to occur now than in the year 2000. This shift towards more frequent extreme weather events is seen as a new baseline, emphasizing the impact of climate change, as highlighted by Carly Kenkel, Chair of Marine Studies at the University of Southern California, who did not participate in this particular study.
The study examined extreme temperature periods across several regions, including parts of the United States and Central America, noting records in both daytime and nighttime temperatures.
The combination of current and past temperature analyses, alongside simulations comparing present conditions to a hypothetical world without human-induced climate change, helped determine the extent of global warming’s role in exacerbating the heatwave of 2024.
A high-pressure system initially over central Mexico, which inhibited cooling rains, is one of the immediate meteorological causes of the heatwave. The heatwave has exacerbated existing disparities, with those having less economic means, like Salazar Pérez, suffering the most without the relief of central air conditioning.